Ventnor man gets 3½ years in gun, drugs case

A Ventnor man arrested was sentenced to more than three years in prison in a car stop that led to an unloaded gun and more than a pound of marijuana.

John Stevens was the rear seat passenger in a car stopped Feb. 17, 2021, after police received a call saying someone in a vehicle brandished a handgun on the Atlantic City Expressway.

State Police then spotted the suspect vehicle failing to maintain its lane and made a high-risk motor vehicle stop.

The female driver was ordered, detained and frisked for weapons.

Stevens, then 19, was then ordered out and police found the unloaded handgun, according to the charges.

While clearing the vehicle, police found a vacuum-sealed bag with more than a pound of marijuana on the floor behind the front passenger seat.

Stevens admitted to the marijuana being his at the time.

He was sentenced Thursday to 3½ years in prison, and must serve the entire term before he is eligible for parole.

Stevens pleaded guilty in November.

While awaiting sentencing, he and another man were arrested inside an Atlantic City convenience store, each with a loaded handgun in their waistband.

He has been jailed since the Jan. 11 arrest in that case.